News

Previous Flat Owner Claimed Current Owner’s CDC Vouchers as Address Wasn’t Officially Changed

2023-01-06 , 10:49 am

You’ve probably heard that Singaporean families can now redeem $300 worth of Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers.

Yes, I’m referring to the ones meant to help us with the GST hike.

Like any other Singaporean, this man’s wife attempted to claim the vouchers via Singpass.

To her surprise, she discovered that somebody had already claimed them.

The culprit? The former owner of the man’s flat.

What Happened

61-year-old Mr Liu, who works as a building contractor, has accused the previous flat owner of claiming his household’s CDC vouchers.

Reportedly, the previous owner has refused to officially change his address since moving out.

Mind you, Mr Liu bought his current flat ten years ago.

Mr Liu suspects that the former owner used the flat’s address to claim the CDC vouchers that rightfully belonged to Mr Liu’s family.

The Former Owner has Yet to Change Address After Ten Years

According to Mr Liu, the previous owner had sold the flat to him after divorcing his then-wife.

Mr Liu then moved into the Bedok North flat with his family.

However, as the previous owner did not officially change his address, all government letters addressed to him continued to be sent to Mr Liu’s flat.

Initially, Mr Liu would put these letters in the correct mailbox.

When the letters didn’t stop coming, he approached the police for help two years ago.

Unfortunately, the situation did not improve.

Mr Liu told Shin Min Daily News that he could understand if the previous owner had initially forgotten to change his address. However, he found it impossible that the previous owner forgot to update his address for ten years.

To add insult to injury, the previous owner has allegedly claimed Mr Liu’s household’s CDC vouchers.

The incident occurred on 3 January at around 7 pm. When Mr Liu’s wife attempted to claim the vouchers via Singpass, the website alerted her that someone had already claimed the vouchers on behalf of Mr Liu’s household.

The website showed the recipient’s name to be that of the previous owner.

What’s so Good about CDC Vouchers?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would know that everyone is excited about redeeming their CDC vouchers.

Of the $300 worth of vouchers each household receives, $150 can be used at five participating supermarket chains: HAO Mart, NTUC FairPrice, Prime Supermarket, Sheng Siong and U Stars Supermarket.

The vouchers expire on 31 December 2023.

So why are people rushing to claim them now?

FairPrice has a special offer from 3 January to 15 January to support the CDC scheme.

If you spend a minimum of $55 worth of CDC supermarket vouchers in one transaction at FairPrice outlets, you will receive $6 in FairPrice vouchers.

However, though the family has gone to Kaki Bukit Community Centre (CC) to reapply for new vouchers, it is not known when they will be able to receive them.

Mr Liu’s son has also filed a police report.

Admittedly, Mr Liu has no way of contacting the previous owner, which makes the situation even more infuriating.

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Mandatory to Update Address

Did you know that neglecting to update your address after moving out is illegal?

According to the FAQs under the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) website, it’s mandatory to report your change of address within 28 days of moving out from your previous home.

Failing to do so can result in a fine not exceeding $5,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.